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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22685854">Another Chance?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sh0okTo0k/pseuds/Sh0okTo0k'>Sh0okTo0k</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - No Powers, Attempted Reconciliation, Day Off, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gaara loves Naruto, Healthy Relationships, Hurt Uzumaki Naruto, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentioned Uchiha Itachi, Moving On, Naruto loves Gaara, Past Relationship(s), Uchiha Sasuke Being an Asshole, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues, Unhealthy Relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:35:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,639</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22685854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sh0okTo0k/pseuds/Sh0okTo0k</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years ago, Sasuke Uchiha broke Naruto’s heart. Now he’s moved on, in a better relationship, and now Sasuke has returned to patch things up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke &amp; Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>236</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Another Chance?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The first year of living with Gaara scared Naruto to death. He was afraid of waking up one morning or night to find all the redheads stuff gone, no trace that he was even there at all. It wasn’t Gaara’s fault at all; it was Sasuke’s. Before they moved in together, his boyfriend would either wake him up before he’d leave or leave him a note.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When he was with Sasuke, Naruto would wake up to a cold bed, wondering where he had gone, or if he did anything wrong. At first he understood, Sasuke’s not great with showing affection. But after two years with him, Naruto still wasn’t sure if Sasuke even thought of him as his boyfriend, or just something to do when he got bored. With Gaara, he doesn’t have to worry about any of that.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This morning he woke up to an empty bed. That panic that had disappeared long ago, came back instantly, until he heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on just a couple seconds later. <em>Calm down, Uzumaki. This is Gaara, he wouldn’t do that to you.</em> He relaxed and smiled when the redhead came out of the bathroom.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What’s up with you?” Gaara’s regular voice was one thing, but his tired voice was the cutest thing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Naruto smiled and said, “Just happy to see you, babe. We’ve got the day off, what do you feel like doing today?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before Gaara could answer, a knock on the door scared them both. “I’ll get it,” Gaara said, “It’s probably Shikamaru, I think he said he’s bringing the Evil Within games back today.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">||||||</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Gaara cursed as he steadied himself after tripping over one of his own shoes. The knocking continued, and he said, “hold on!” He kicked his shoe out of the way and when he opened the door, he froze.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sasuke Uchiha was standing in front of him, looking just as shocked as he was. “Gaara?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Seeing him made him remember all the shit he put Naruto through. Despite everything he’s been through, the blond still has a beautiful heart. How he ended up with someone like Sasuke, he’ll never know, but Naruto deserved better than that. Then one night he got a call from Naruto, who told him that Sasuke left him, all while crying his eyes out. That was three years ago, and now all that pain is standing right in front of him.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Gaara’s hand tightened on the doorknob, and his eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here, Uchiha?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I need to talk to Naruto, where is he?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He’s none of your concern anymore. Now get—”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sasuke?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They both turned to see Naruto standing right outside the hallway.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sasuke stepped closer, pushing on the door some, but Gaara kept him back. “Naruto, hey! I need to talk to you!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Gaara gritted his teeth. “I told you to—“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s fine, Gaara.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The redhead stopped and looked back at Naruto, who was smiling at him. “Go back to the room and find something for us to watch, babe. I’ll be there in a minute.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wanted to say no. <em>If he wants to talk, I’m staying right here.</em> “Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p class="p2">“Yeah. This won’t take long.”</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Gaara nodded and let go of the door, scowling at Sasuke before disappearing down the hall. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">||||||</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Naruto watched him until he saw and heard the bedroom door close, and that’s when his smile disappeared.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why are you here, Sasuke?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sasuke cleared his throat and looked down the hall. “So Gaara, huh? Didn’t think he swung that way. Or any way, he used to hate everyone.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, well, some people change. Why are you here?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The older man opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry about leaving you like that. I just needed some time to clear my head and figure things out. But I was hoping we could—” Sasuke’s eyes fell to Naruto’s bare feet and when he looked up, he looked over Naruto’s shoulder at the window behind him.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You know, when Neji told me you guys were together, I didn’t believe it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You should’ve. Neji’s never lied about anything, why would he start now?” Naruto sat down on one arm of the couch and crossed his arms.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, when I ran into him and Tenten, they weren’t thrilled to see me.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s because you treated me like shit, Sasuke. You left, and they were there for me, all of them. And if I were you, I’d leave right now. Cause Shikamaru is coming over today, and if he sees you, he’ll try to kill you. I know he’ll want to.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Naruto—”</span>
</p><p class="p2">Uncrossing his arms, Naruto got up and started walking to the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to spend my day off with my boyfriend—”</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Naruto, I feel really bad!” Sasuke’s voice broke at the end, and the blond stopped.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s hard for me to get close to people, Naruto! Itachi killed our parents and then killed himself right in front of me! I was seven! I walk around with this shit screaming in my head all the time, it’s hard for me to get close to anyone after what he did!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Naruto knows this story all too well. The first time he heard it, he cried. It was awful imagining a seven-year-old Sasuke witnessing such a horrible thing, being so scared and confused. And then to have him spend years wondering why Itachi did it and have people stare at him and whisper about him and Itachi behind his back. It must have been hell. But Sasuke’s used this excuse before, or similar ones, and that won’t work now.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sasuke. I’m sorry about what Itachi did to you. I’m sorry that you’ll never be able to get answers, and that you have to have this stuff haunting you every day. But using Itachi as an excuse for how you treated me won't fix us, cause there is no us anymore. You had your chance, but you didn’t want me, so I moved on. I’ve got something great now, Sasuke. Gaara’s amazing, why would I want to screw that up?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This time, Naruto’s voice cracked, and the blond looked down at the hall again. The door was open enough to where he could see a flash of red, and he smiled. “It was hard for Gaara to get close to people too. His own father and uncle tried to kill him multiple times, they blamed him for his mother’s death. All he had was his brother and sister, but he was afraid they would be just like them. Yeah, he was mean at first, he didn’t trust anyone. But he changed. I didn’t have anyone, but I never once took it out on others because of it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto walked to the front door, and opened it. “You say you’ve changed? Great. Good for you, I really hope you find someone and that you treat them better than how you treated me. But I’m not throwing away the best thing I’ve ever had for you. Goodbye.”</span>
</p><p class="p2">He watched the other man drink it all in, and without another word, just as he stepped through the threshold, Naruto grabbed him by his forearm and turned him until they faced each other. “If you ever come here again; if I ever find out you’ve been bothering Gaara, or bothering our friends about us, I’ll break every bone in your body. Believe it, Sasuke.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">||||||</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After Gaara went to their room, he opened the door a little to listen. He couldn’t hear everything, but he knew that Sasuke would try anything to get Naruto back. He knows Naruto wouldn’t cheat on him, but for a split second, he feared that he would prove himself wrong.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That was until Naruto said, “You had your chance, but you didn’t want me, so I moved on. I’ve got something great now, Sasuke. Gaara’s amazing, why would I want to screw that up?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>How could I even think to doubt him?</em> Gaara thought to himself. <em>He would never do that, I’m such a fool.</em> Smiling, he quietly closed the door and got on the bed, grabbing the TV remote off of Naruto’s nightstand.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Just a few minutes later, Naruto walked in and closed the bedroom door behind him. “Hey. Haven’t found anything yet.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Naruto sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “That’s because you were listening.” Gaara looked down, and the blond added, “Don’t worry, I’m not mad. I just can’t believe he came here...”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Me neither.” Gaara looked up, staring at the blonds back, wondering what he should do. Saying nothing, he put the remote down and moved until he was sitting right behind Naruto, and gently laid his hand on the blonds shoulder through his T-shirt. Naruto instantly relaxed into the touch and Gaara moved closer so he could wrap his arms his neck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Naruto leaned back into him, but then pulled away. Before Gaara could be sad about it, the blond grabbed him and started pulling him to his side. Gaara followed until he was straddling his lap. His arms went back around the blonds neck while Naruto wrapped his arms around his waist. They buried their faces in each other’s necks and sat there for a long time, until Gaara heard sniffling.<br/><br/>Naruto wiped some tears away and held the redhead tighter. “I love you, Gaara. So fucking much, you know that, right?”<br/></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Nodding, Gaara let some tears of his own fall, but didn’t worry about them. He hugged Naruto tighter and turned his head to place a kiss on his neck. “I know. I love you too.”</span>
</p>
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